title: Viral infections and recurrences of febrile convulsions.
abstract: To determine whether complicated febrile seizures occur more often in children with a proven viral infection, we performed viral examinations on 144 children with febrile convulsions, of whom 112 had simple and 32 had complicated seizures. A diagnosis of virus infection was verified in 46% of the former patients and 53% of the latter. Three adenoviruses, one parainfluenza virus type 2 and one type 3, one respiratory syncytial virus, one echovirus type 11, one herpes simplex virus type 2, and one influenza B virus were isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid. A simple febrile convulsion occurred in seven children with a positive cerebrospinal fluid viral isolation, and two had a complex febrile seizure. In a follow-up of 2 to 4 years (mean 3.3 years), 21 of the 107 children with simple seizures (19.6%) and 3 of the 32 children with complicated seizures (9.4%) had recurrent febrile seizures. The children with positive evidence for a viral infection, even with a virus isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid, had no more recurrences than those without any proven viral infection. We conclude that children with a proven viral infection have no worse prognosis than those without.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rantala
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uhari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tuokko
mesh_terms: D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology